The first rant – feral apostrophes

Well, here it is. My first blog rant – and on apostrophes.

According to a Colgate toothpaste commercial I saw on tv a few minutes ago:

“One in four Australian’s have tooth decay.”

Really? One in four Australian’s what … precisely?

Who signed off on this ad and do they still have a job?

What’s with the possessive apostrophe? And why was it accompanied by footage of a number of people in white lab coats?

Was the idea to give the impression that this mob was uber-intelligent and should therefore be taken seriously?

It didn’t work. Mostly because one doesn’t have to be a superbrain to know when an apostrophe is appropriate and when it is simply visual clutter.

In this case, it was somewhat like the zit that pops up in the dead centre of your nose an hour before a very important first date. That is, not terribly attractive and totally unnecessary.

It’s not that hard to use apostrophes. Really.

I’m serious.

I’ve set it out in very simple terms on my website; four pages in short words and really big type, starting with this one: Apostrophes 101

It’s not something that (supposedly) highly-intelligent people dressed in white coats should get wrong – especially if they want me to buy their stuff. Makes you wonder if their chemical formulae are written out properly and what the resultant toothpaste will actually do!

Good grief.

Time for some deep breathing before other people in white coats show up methinks…

ttfn

S.